have an egg-cellent holiday and happy crafting

I am experimenting with natural egg dyes this Easter. They aren't the brightest in the world, but they are colored, which as far as I am concerned is "Easter" enough. I was inspired to go "au naturel" by both a friend and a photograph I saw from Edible Manhattan. I like the colors the Paas kits have to offer, but have just embarked on an extreme health kick and thought I might as well take the healthier route. My biggest concern was that the dye would flavor the eggs, but from everything I've heard and read, I should be in the clear. Unlike the six vibrant colors of the Paas kits, I only made three; I used beets, onion skins, and blueberries. The onion skins required some boiling and I did not do anything except add the beet juice and blueberries to a jar with a little white vinegar. 

The eggs seem to like it so far.  The blueberry dye speckles the eggs more than the others, but I think it looks nice. I wish you could leave dyed eggs out for display, but they are so stinky. I love hard boiled eggs, but even I don't want our entire house to smell like them. I also did some research on boiling eggs and have been knocking it out of the park in creating perfectly yellow yolks. I have tried all types of techniques, but Martie Stew's method is tried and true. I place the eggs in a pot, cover them with water, bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat once the water is rolling, cover, and then let sit for twelve minutes. It works every time. The instant ice bath after the twelve minutes helps with easy-peeling eggshells too. Click here to read more about naturally dyeing eggs.

a brightly-colored, beautiful, natural-ish party theme

These were the initial images
that sold me. (Though, I could do
without the furry headband...)

Although I saw the inspiration for this theme while searching winter weddings, I think it could be used for almost any party, or celebratory gathering: enter Swedish Christmas. I don't think I would use it for a three-year old birthday party, or a sweet sixteen, but I think it would be absolutely beautiful for a fall or winter holiday, adult birthday, or anniversary. If I liked celebrating my birthday, I would be jazzed if someone were to throw me a party with this theme, but I absolutely despise it so friends - do not get any ideas. I really don't even love the color red, but I love everything about the photos of this wedding. I do think the photos are kind of weird because it looks more like a pretend wedding than a real wedding, but if you focus  on the details and the colors I think you will understand where I am coming from. I am Polish and not Swedish, but I want this party theme in my life, and since we have so many parties (not really) I thought I would document it. Click here to take a peek.

a science project to set-up this weekend

Not my photo, but I am liking
the looks of that jalapeno.

I am definitely more of an earth science kind of person vs. formal/life/social science, but I am going to set-up an experiment this weekend and I really hope it works. The experiment comes from the Food & Wine website and the point of it is to grow your own salt - and not just any salt, flavored salt. The article suggests making a blood orange salt, but I was thinking about using sage. I wish I had a truffle or two laying around, but I think we are fresh out. Ha! 

My experience with flavored salt is few and far between, but we purchased extremely spicy salt when we visited Vancouver and I have also had smoked salt on the rim of a cocktail in Manhattan. Those were the two best flavored salts I ever had - and the only. Maybe I should try to make it spicy?! Regardless of the flavor, I will let you know how it turns out. My fingers are crossed that my efforts result in a tasty additive for our winter meals. Click here to read the article, and if you try it out yourself - good luck!  

farewell wishes for a dear, dear friend

My banner.

One of my most cherished friends is moving to Switzerland today - Basel, Switzerland to be exact. I am excited for her and the adventures she will have, especially after (recently) getting a taste of Europe myself - boy, is it pretty out there. We had a going away party for her this past Saturday at the home of another cherished friend, and served her favorite food and decorated the house in Swiss decor. One of my tasks was crafting a banner. I spent some time researching bon voyage party ideas, but making a banner that read "Bon Voyage" seemed silly for someone that was moving to a Swiss German-speaking land. So, I googled bon voyage in Swiss German and found that the term "Gueti Riese" encompasses three endearing farewell wishes - Godspeed, Bon Voyage, and Have a Good Trip. Perfect!

As you may know, cutting is not one of my strong points, so I wanted to make sure I found something that would produce results that looked both quality and heartfelt. All too often me + scissors = one big mess. To my surprise and delight I found a free template online. Score. A website called Beauty and Bedlam provides a link not only to letters, but blank banner panels, hearts, and ampersands as well. It was a lifesaver - isn't life delicious. I decided to print the letters on white paper in black ink and mount them on a circle of patterned scrapbook paper that was half an inch larger in diameter. I went with the triangle panels and used patterned scrapbook paper for those too, mix-matching patterns between the two different shapes. I chose to use patterns that were mostly black and red because those are the colors of Basel. If you need to make a banner, use this template. You can make it say whatever you need and it came out looking quite nice. Click here for the template.    

crafting holiday cheer with paper and a sewing machine

Those are this year's little trees.

The crafting of my annual homemade Christmas cards began yesterday afternoon and (I think) they will be stuffed, stamped, and in the mail tomorrow. I have been very careful about choosing designs these last few years, after I had the brilliant idea three years ago of sewing buttons onto cards in the outline of a tree. That whole thing was a bad joke, especially after finding out some of the buttons didn't stay on the cards after going through the mail. What the hell was I thinking?! 

When I began crafting yesterday I regretted not starting the project earlier, but I finished what I needed to in record time and really love how they came out. Tonight I will glue the insert inside the car, stuff the envelopes, and stamp. They will go into the mail tomorrow and hopefully drop into mailboxes by the weekend. I will say we need less friends and smaller families because I made seventy-five and think I am going to have to make another twenty-five as back-ups. I wanted to have five set aside for cards we receive from people who weren't on our initial list, but I am not sure five is going to do.  Oh the joys of the holidays! 

arranging evergreens for our front door masterpiece

Thar she blows!

I made my own wreath for the holidays the first Christmas we moved into our home, which was two years ago. It was very easy, because a huge cypress tree tilted in our front yard as a result of Superstorm Sandy. (Yes, it didn't fully fall to the ground, but it tilted enough where it had to be cut down and hauled away. RIP cypress.)  The cypress branches were quite full AND we had about a million of them, so I was not intimated in the least bit to try my hand at wreath making. I had never done it before, but I have beginners luck with a myriad of things (golf, bowling, darts) and thought it was worth a shot. This past holiday, I wussed out and didn't try to recreate my masterpiece. Instead, I painted over my pastel printed paper flower wreath from spring with holiday colors and felt just fine about it. 

We had so many mini boughs leftover from our Christmas tree this year, I knew it was time to put my big girl pants on and attempt to craft an evergreen wreath again. I was tired and sleepy last night, but started the project anyways. It worked out so unbelievably well that I couldn't stop until it was finished - and finish it I did. In the words of my sister - take that Martie Stew (Martha Stewart for short)! I was nervous because the branches were a little skinnier than I had wanted, but it worked out just fine. I am so, so happy with it. I may add some holly to it this weekend (fresh from our yard), but for right now I am jazzed with the naturalness of it all. I love our wreath and am really proud of myself for making it. I was so excited I even mustered up the energy to vacuum up my mess before I went to sleep. I am sure my neighbors were really psyched to hear our vacuum running at 10:30 p.m. Sorry neighbors!

my very first pendleton product has been ordered

There they are!

I did it. I ordered something Pendleton and it was not a blanket. (And thanks for the outlet tip on that last post!) It was a custom pair of Nikes that I designed myself - with the help of my stylish husband - with a fabric option of...wait for it, wait for it...Pendleton wool. Can you believe it? I am thrilled! We had a custom sneaker making party two nights ago and really went for it.  In a few weeks, I will be the proud new owner of Pendleton Nikes. He made a super fresh, hot pair of New Balances that are scheduled to come in a few days. I wish mine were coming as quickly as his were, but regardless - I am jazzed and can be patient. It was a really fun process and almost everything on the sneaker is customizable, even the swish. I had it yellow until my husband played around with it and made it gray.  I was also between red rivets vs. the raspberry colored ones, but went with pink because they match my backpack. I am really freaking excited and cannot wait to see the package on our doorstep! Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday to us/me!      

our first holiday hosting down, hopefully many more to go

My cornucopia fold.

We survived Thanksgiving 2014! It was not bad at all - we think we could have easily made everything ourselves and skipped requesting dishes from our guests. We were calm, cool, and collected, and everything came out great. My husband's only wish was that he spent more time perfecting homemade gravy before the actual meal happened and I wish I pulled the brussels sprouts two minutes before I did. The turkey was the best ever - brining is the way to go - and the veggies and desserts came out great too. Win.

I went pretty minimal with the centerpieces and floral arrangements because we wanted to make sure we had enough space to make the meal family style. I am all for setting up a buffet, but not on Thanksgiving. I used a few small glass bottles filled with a flower or two, and tied some red and white craft twine around the tops to make them somewhat uniform. I folded the napkins into cones, or in the spirit of Thanksgiving "cornucopias", which worked out great. For the place cards, I used gourds and tags made from kraft paper. I bent paper clips using pliers and my husband's cousin helped write out everyone's name in her artistic handwriting. It was simple and added just enough decor to our table. My proudest craft had to do with our new stemless wine glasses; I was wracking my brain trying to figure out how to label them and it came to me a few nights before - use the gold letter stickers that were leftover from my Halloween costume and monogram everyone's glass. If someone's name started with the same letter as someone else's, the older of the two family member got the uppercase letter and the younger got the lowercase. I was worried the stickers would leave a residue on the glasses, but it cleaned up easily without leaving a trace. We were (mostly all) cleaned up by Saturday and were able to enjoy our clean home over the weekend, which is now ready for Christmas. I cannot believe it is December. Yikes.

a way to distinguish who sits where

Photo from Kitchen
Confidante.

Time is flying. I cannot believe it is almost Thanksgiving, and then right after that it is going to be December. Yikes-a-rama. Thankfully, I have already begun my Christmas shopping and am well on my way to finding the perfect gifts for our loved ones. I keep getting overwhelmed thinking about everything I have to do, but I am trying my hardest to focus on the task at hand. There are a lot of events approaching and I do not want one to overshadow the other. They are all important milestones and deserve to be celebrated and recognized. 

One event looming over me is Thanksgiving. I am envisioning a beautifully set table, yet I have no idea how I am going to set it, aside from our plates, napkins, and place settings. I need to figure out linens, centerpieces, and place cards. I have a few gourds, two sugar pumpkins, and we can get leaves and pinecones from our yard. I was thinking about arranging bouquets in the pumpkins - they would sit low and be quite festive. Our dining room table is also very skinny, so I am not going to be able to set-up anything too extravagant, which is why I want the place cards to embody wholesomeness, nature, and cheer. I like the little cranberry wreaths, but should I just make them with rosemary and skip the cranberries? Decisions, decisions. Click here for the directions.

sewing the seeds of christmas cards

That's me!

I tackled a large pile of sewing chores this past Sunday that have been accumulating for quite some time now. I sewed buttons on a shirt, sewed a button and a snap on a pair of shorts, hemmed a skirt, re-did a hem on a skirt that fell down, and attempted to hem a dress, but wasn't careful about measuring and destroyed it. Damn it. It was too big to begin with and with it cut too short it looked like I was wearing a box. Bye bye dress. It loosely (really loosely) reminded me of a dress I saw in one of the designer windows I pass on my way to work too, it just needed to be shorter. Well, measure twice and cut once was not on the forefront of my mind. It was one of the last projects of the day and I held the dress up to my body (not even in a mirror), thought "a good eight inches will do", laid it on the ground, and cut off about fourteen inches. I have other dresses I can wear, I just really liked the colors in that dress and was excited to be able to wear a little brightness in the winter months - it would have looked adorbs with some wool tights, high boots, and a cardigan. 

I normally contract out my grandmother to hem things, but I thought I would give her a break. I also own my very own machine now and want to practice and get good at making my own alterations. Christmas card season is also right around the corner and I need to make some decisions. This year I can start with a clean slate - I don't have any extra supplies from past year's laying around. They are all used up and I have the opportunity to start fresh. I have an idea of what I want to do and it does involve sewing; I'm just worried it is too similar to last year's card, which I am realizing I never posted. Stay tuned - I will post a comparison at some point in the upcoming weeks - most likely around Thanksgiving weekend, which is when I try and get my cards done. Here's to remembering to measure both clothes and cards! 

we will have guests & they will know what to bring

My Thanksgiving invitations are done and were either hand-delivered, or put in the mail today. I am loving the way they turned out; each family gets a mini red leaf, a green and yellow acorn with the time the party starts, and a wood-grain leaf with their requested contributions. The three pieces are held together by a brad I bent one way, which still made it feel secure - if I bent each side of the brad opposite ways a little poked out from the top. Let's hope this is our great start towards crushing our very first Thanksgiving dinner. 

(Something else to note is that we put 2:00 because we actually want our guests to arrive at 3:00...always late.)

my love/hate relationship with paper source (today)

There's the beautiful
felt leaf garland. Ugh.

I don't really hate Paper Source. It is one of the greatest stores in Manhattan (and other big cities) and is definitely in my top ten. Click here to read my post about it from June. However, I went there today to purchase a few cards and two items caught my eye - a garland and a pack of pre-cut leaves. Before moving forward with my reaction to said garland and leaves, I would like to provide you with a little back story about my recent idea for crafting. It is no secret that I hate do not love football (I also don't like birds and Margaret Schroeder from Boardwalk Empire, but that's another story). I like the "idea" of football - lazy Sundays at home with fatty snacks - what could be better?! However, I find the actual game boring and the large men make me nervous (gigantic necks = scary time). My creativeness and craftiness escalate during football season because I am actually home and have time to stop and smell the roses - and of course think about decorating and getting ready for the holidays. At the instant this year's football season started (little fib) I spotted a leaf garland made from shiny card stock on Pinterest (not glittery, I said shiny) . I was sold and ready to craft! I ordered the paper to make it online and printed the leaf patterns on the printer at work. Thirty dollars later, I am ready to cut some leaves and sew them together to make a fall-like garland we can keep up through the Thanksgiving holiday, when we will be entertaining eleven guests at our home for dinner (definitely another post).

Even more back story: I don't know what happened in nursery school or kindergarten, but my cutting skills are less than par. I am not sure what I was thinking when I initially set out to tackle this project, but as the days pass and I get closer and closer to starting it, I have realized I am going to be tracing and cutting a lot of shapes that are not quite square or round. Leaves are hard. So, this Sunday is the big day for my craft project and I have been trying to psych myself up to cut for many, many hours and I was doing a good job until I walked into Paper Source today. Sitting directly in front of my face as I walked through the doors was a thirty-six pack of colored leaves - I even had my choice between small and large (I mean really?). The only thing keeping me sane is the fact that the packaged leaves are red, orange, yellow, green, and brown, and my leaves are going to be rust, copper, silver, gold, bronze, and plum. After I calmed down and found the cards I needed, I did a lap around the store to see if they had anything birthday appropriate for my mother-in-law. (How many people's birthdays are in October? Geez Louise, so many.) I turned the corner and saw an actual full garland made of felt leaves. Of course I initially wanted felt, but I thought paper would be so much easier. Why am I going to spend hours of my time handcrafting something I can buy for fifteen dollars? Damn it Paper Source. So, I walked out with one strand of the felt garland and still plan to tackle my project this Sunday (and because my husband will be away, I will be watching Bravo and crafting, not football). I figured I can put one set on our front door and the other set on the dining room hutch. I will post on Monday and let you know how the paper garland came out. My fingers are crossed and already sore from cutting.    

a plug for handmade and creative cards

isn't it so pretty and fun?

I am not trying to trash on Hallmark because I have received very thoughtful cards in the past that have brought me to tears, but I work very close to a store that sells handmade cards and I have been loving them. The store is called Paper Source and in addition to being clever and beautiful, the cards they sell are also a few dollars cheaper than cards sold at a CVS or Duane Reade. Truth be told, I have been doing a horrible job at sending my friends and family cards (which I think I mentioned a few posts ago), but I have been crushing (in a good way) sending cards to my sister. I have sent her all types of cards - thinking of you, I love you, way to go, you rule, you are freaking awesome, etc. - which I guess could be considered love and inspirational. I also picked up my mother and father's day cards there, too. The card to my mom said "you're a mother like no other" with a floral arrangement in a Ball jar and the card to my dad said "dad, you're so fly" with three flies used for fishing. I love their cards and hopefully my excitement will start spreading to other people I hold near and dear to my heart, in addition to my wonderful sister.    

a home for our chirping friends

I'm not sure we need two, but I
am loving this new color scheme!

Last summer we were the lucky recipients of our very own Pleasant Ranch Studios handcrafted birdhouse. Yes, I have been known to dislike birds very much, but that was during my trail crew days when I was sleeping in the woods. Now that I am sleeping in our beautiful home they don't bother me, aside from a few trying to live in our soffits, but my husband took care of that (without harm...relax). I was so excited to receive one and thought it was such a cool and thoughtful gift. Our friends brought it down from Vermont and it was made by one of our other friends in Vermont. He makes wooden crafts as a hobby and does a damn fine job. Our home is contemporary style, so it couldn't have been more perfect. Sometimes I wish I could swap with our feathered friends and live inside the birdhouse - it is that nice. If you're feeling like your yard needs an upgrade and your wildlife needs a home, go ahead and support a great guy who is handcrafting some great things. Someone we know will be receiving one of his goods soon. Click here to look at his Etsy shop. 

a happy card to brighten someone's day

I love sending cards and I used to be a lot better about it. I have managed to write a few lately (mostly to my sister and husband), but aside from that I haven't sent out one thank you card for the thoughtful things my friends and family have done. Failure. As our home becomes more and more settled, I am trying to build in systems and areas that will make our lives easier. We recently decided to remove the closet doors in our office - let the office remodeling begin at last! The closet will still act as storage, but it will be open storage and keeping it open will also keep it tidy - hopefully. (That is the plan - more to come on the full project in a later post.) 

One of the baskets on one of the shelves inside the open closet will house gifts for people. I really dislike buying things for people at the very last minute. My hope for this basket is when I see something that makes me think of someone I can purchase it and save it for a special time, unless they are really awesome and I am really antsy and I have to deliver it right away (very likely). In addition to items, I also want it to house cards. Working in the West Village, I am surrounded by beautifully handcrafted cards that say the most wonderful things. I also like peeking at Etsy for cards, as well as the online shop for Colette Paperie. I ran into this card yesterday on Pinterest and ordered two, along with two other items from the shop (one card, one magnet). Will you be the lucky recipient when I finally decide to send it? Click here to visit the Colette Paperie website.   

a very shiny accessory that just washes away

This is the package I chose.

I started following the company, Flash Tattoo, on Instagram a few months ago. I believe (?) I found it through one of my husband's cousins who liked one of their photos. As we begin to embark on our 2014 wedding season (as a reminder - six weddings to go), I feel pressured to begin thinking about what I am going to wear. I have a number of fancy dresses that thankfully all still fit, so I don't think I need to dress shop. However (and my husband is going to love this - earmuffs tootsie!), I could use a few new accessories and a pair of some hot black wedges. I have a few simple black dresses and as soon as I saw these temporary metallic tattoos, I thought "if done right, these could look pretty darn awesome at a formal event". I am obviously not planning on covering myself with them, but I think I can find a good balance of real jewelry and metallic fake jewelry. With four sheets in a pack they will definitely last for six weddings and even a few other dress-up events. Most of the photos on their website are of women on the beach, but I think with a high shoe and a little lipstick, I could make them look a touch fancier. My only worry is dancing and getting sweaty. The weddings we have this year are going to be full on dance party centrals. Will this delicate accessories last until the end of the evening? Who knows, but it is worth a shot. Watch out world - here I come with tattoo jewelry (fake, of course)! Click here to visit their website.

in need of a little laugh...this will help

you're my favorite nut

let's ketchup soon

you're my favorite husband

I needed a little laugh today and remembered one of the bookmarks I pinned at my last job – Colette Paperie. (Yes, I transferred my bookmarks from one job to the next - I work hard to find cool stuff on the interwebs ) My friend that I used to work with told me about this website and the cards are hilarious. I also get a kick out of someecards, but this site has real note cards on it, not e-cards. Some of them make me laugh every time I read them. I have yet to buy one, but I should make an effort to support this site, so that I can keep on laughing. Click here, take a look, and smile - the weekend is almost upon us!  

a do-it-yourself gift for a 1st birthday

My sister made this toy for a 1st birthday she went to two weeks ago and I am super impressed! It is a color matching game she made from paint swatches. You cut little squares and affix them to clothespins and then the child has to match the colors. I don’t know what she used to stick the paper onto the clothespins, but maybe she can chime in if she reads this. (Jass? Are you out there?)

I am all in favor of wooden toys. No weird paint, or plastics, or anything unnatural. Job well done, Little Jass. I am surprised you ventured around the color wheel and included more than different shades of orange. I expect one of these when we have a child (which won’t be for some time, but I just wanted to put my order in now).

playing with spoons, but not how you think

I found this craft idea (see photo) the other day made with six spoons and a light (on Pinterest of course). I love it. I hope we can find a place in our kitchen (in the home we presently do not own) to hang one of these. They are so cool.

Some days I think I am going to get sick of Pinterest, or the pictures other people pin are going to get old, or become repeats, but that website amazes me each and every day. (Yes I am on it that often. It is a true addiction.) I will say that I have been craving sweets and baked goods like never before, too.  People post the most delicious looking homemade treats.

Sometimes I wish there was a way to only look at craft ideas. Sometimes I don't.
Most of the time I don't...

need some colorful inspiration?

Well, look no farther.  This website is so amazing.  It is called Design Seeds.  (Click here to be taken to the site.)  I hope it inspires you to add exciting colors and accents to your home.  The creator, Jessica, is obsessed with color and color palettes.  She finds photos (and they are truly beautiful photos) and puts color palettes together, which may sound boring, but she sees color in a very special way.  For example:

When I look at this photo, I initially just see green and grey. 

However, she pulled out three additional colors, creating a palette of a very calming color combination. 

She calls this one Lemongrass Tones.

When I look at this photo, I initially just see metal and silver colors. 

However, she pulled out four different purple/plum hues and grey. 

She calls this one Tin Tones.